


just say yes

by lesmiserablol



Series: open to question [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Betrothal Necklace (Avatar), Birthday Party, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Idiots in Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Turtleduck(s), rated t for some minor language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25209517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: “What are you doing?”Zuko practically jumps out of his skin, scaring off the badgerfrog in the process. The little guy hops away and Zuko tries to relax his face into something more neutral as he hides the papers behind his back, standing up and facing Sokka. He’s only just stepping out of the palace, so he can’t have heard too much, but Zuko’s heart is still beating rapidly. “Nothing. Just getting some fresh air.”“Uh huh,” Sokka says, looking unconvinced, glancing at a few of the papers that Zuko had crumpled up and thrown to the ground in frustration. “You sure you’re not planning any birthday surprises or anything?”Zuko rolls his eyes. “Please, Sokka, when was the last time I managed to surprise you?”
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: open to question [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1820671
Comments: 110
Kudos: 1899





	just say yes

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone who requested a third part to this series, here you go!

“Sokka, baby, you are a ray of sunshine in my life. No, more than a ray. You are the sun. You are my sun! That’s with a ‘u’, not an ‘o’...” Zuko sighs. “Let me start over. Sokka, darling...no, the pet names seem too forced. Sokka, my love...that’s better…Sokka, my love, my light, my everything. I know today is your birthday, but I am asking you to give me a gift, the gift of marriage. I am asking you to marry me.”

He waits, and after a few moments of painful silence, the badgerfrog croaks at him.

Zuko scowls at the creature that is staring at him from a rock in the palace gardens. “I know it needs work, that’s why I’m here! I really do hate public speaking. This is why I have people help me write all my speeches.” 

The badgerfrog blinks at him, and Zuko drops his sour expression. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m overthinking this. I just need to speak from the heart! It’ll be easier when I am actually talking to him.” He looks over the messy stack of notes in his hands, frowning at all the crossed out lines and question marks and lists of qualities about Sokka. He picks up the quill that’s lying next to the badgerfrog and puts a big ‘X’ through his list of possible pet names.

“This will be one for the history books. As long as I don’t set his clothes on fire by accident like I did when I was nervous to ask him on our first date, we’ll be fine. This is much easier than that. It’s just a proposal. To the man I love. In front of all our friends and family.” He sits down next to the badger frog and puts his head in his hands. “Sokka is lucky I love him so much. I just have to keep telling myself I’m doing this for him.”

“What are you doing?”

Zuko practically jumps out of his skin, scaring off the badgerfrog in the process. The little guy hops away and Zuko tries to relax his face into something more neutral as he hides the papers behind his back, standing up and facing Sokka. He’s only just stepping out of the palace, so he can’t have heard too much, but Zuko’s heart is still beating rapidly. “Nothing. Just getting some fresh air.”

“Uh huh,” Sokka says, looking unconvinced, glancing at a few of the papers that Zuko had crumpled up and thrown to the ground in frustration. “You sure you’re not planning any birthday surprises or anything?” 

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Please, Sokka, when was the last time I managed to surprise you?”

“Literally this morning! You know how good you are at surprising me and you use it to your advantage way too often. You banned breakfast in bed because of how much you hate the crumbs, but then surprise number one of the day, I woke up to you holding a tray of food with a little smirk on your face.”

“I know,” Zuko’s lips draw up in said smirk. “I just wanted to remind you how good I am.”

“Anyway, enough ‘fresh air’, I think it’s illegal for you to not spend time with me on my birthday,” Sokka points out, crossing his arms in front of his chest and pouting slightly.

“I wasn’t aware of that law,” Zuko mirrors Sokka’s pose. “I thought you wanted to be alone for your royal massage?”

“I did, because your constant stress is a little too contagious for me, even if I still missed it. But imagine my disappointment when it was over and you weren’t waiting for me! Good thing you are so predictable,” he says, glancing at the turtleduck pond behind Zuko.

His heart having returned to a normal pace, Zuko picks up the scattered papers and gives his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. “Come on, let’s go out into the city. I have some ideas for how to spend the afternoon.”

Sokka tries to snatch one of the papers out of his grip, but Zuko is too quick. He steps to the side and sets the stack on fire in his hands. He figures there wasn’t much to work with on them anyway, and plus, it’s amusing to see Sokka raise his eyebrows before shaking his head. 

“I have the most dramatic boyfriend in the world,” he sighs. 

"Hopefully he's also the hottest," Zuko points out, lifting the flames in his hand for emphasis.

“And the cheesiest," Sokka groans.

* * *

“Where are we going?” Sokka asks as soon as they step outside of the palace. “Don’t tell me we are doing another fire flakes eating contest, because I love those, but last time I couldn’t taste anything for like two days and I don’t want to spoil my birthday feast tonight.”

“Come on, that's no fun,” Suki teases. “You're just worried that you will lose to me again.”

“You cheated!” Sokka protests, turning to Zuko. “Why did we have to bring her again?”

“I’m here to guard the Fire Lord and his boyfriend in the city,” Suki reminds him, gesturing at her Kyoshi Warrior uniform. “And because it’s your birthday and you are my best friend.”

“Aww, Suki, you’re my best friend too!” Sokka beams, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

“And that is why I have to keep you humble on your birthday,” Suki adds as she pokes him in the side. “I won that contest fair and square and you know it.”

Zuko laughs as Sokka pulls away from her, his jaw dropping open. “Alright, no flaming fire flakes today. Do you want some fried komodo chicken for lunch? We can go find a street cart in the market. Or we could go to that noodle place you love?”

Sokka looks thoughtful. “Hmm. Let’s go get...oh, at first glance I thought that was Appa!” he laughs, pointing at a distant shadow in the sky.

“I wonder what it is, then,” Zuko smiles, watching his boyfriend’s face.

“It...no! No way! It _is_ Appa!” Sokka gasps, turning to him. “What is this?!”

“Just adding to the list of birthday surprises,” Zuko shrugs, exchanging a smile with Suki. He internally thanks the Spirits for their impeccable timing as they land, Aang jumping out of the saddle before they touch the ground. 

“Happy birthday Sokka!” he cheers, running to hug his friend before turning to greet Zuko and Suki the same way. In the four years since the war has ended, Aang has grown to be the same height as Zuko, and he still isn’t quite used to it.

Katara and Toph climb out of the saddle next, followed by Bato and Hakoda. Sokka is bouncing from person to person, hugging them all tightly (“Happy birthday, Snoozles,” Toph says, her voice muffled from Sokka’s hug).

“I didn’t think you guys could make it!”

“You thought we would miss your birthday?” Bato asks.

“Well, yeah, since you told me ‘we’ll miss your birthday’,” Sokka points out.

Hakoda joins his husband's side. "It was Zuko's idea to have us come and surprise you today."

“I knew it! I was right to be suspicious!” Sokka grins.

Zuko scoffs. “Not true. You did not see this coming.”

“Hey, my pride can only take so many surprises before I begin to seriously question my observational skills,” Sokka pushes him playfully. “Now let’s go, you guys are right on time for lunch.”

* * *

Zuko and Sokka have their differences. Zuko prefers to bathe at night while Sokka prefers the morning. Zuko rises with the sun and Sokka could sleep until noon, if he had the time. They once spent an hour debating the best characters in Love Amongst the Dragons and still didn’t come to an agreement. 

But one thing the two have in common is their love of food, a love that grew during the war when they would've done anything for a nice, home cooked meal. 

At first, Sokka complained about the Fire Nation food. He thought it was too spicy or had too many flavors, and he only stuck to a few dishes before finally branching out. 

(Once they started dating, he grew a sudden appreciation for even more of the food options. When Zuko had asked where his newfound love for fire noodles came from, Sokka had only smirked and said, “They aren’t so bad now that I realize your kisses often taste like fire noodles.”)

Sokka takes full advantage of the banquet that is dedicated just to his birthday. His plate never stays empty for long, and he looks like the happiest man in the world as he finishes the third course. Zuko finds himself looking to his right and becoming distracted from watching his boyfriend several times.

“Are you okay?” Sokka asks, catching him staring for the fifth time. 

“I’m fine, I’m just enjoying the view,” Zuko responds, grabbing his drink.

Sokka raises an eyebrow at him and takes another large bite while maintaining eye contact. “Oo haffit itt in sing.”

Zuko somehow manages not to snort into his water at that, more than aware that doing so would bring upon him endless teasing about Fire Lord manners from his boyfriend. “Excuse me?”

Sokka swallows the bite and tries again. “I said, you haven’t eaten a thing!”

“Not true! Look, I had half of my rice,” Zuko insists weakly, and Sokka gives Zuko’s nearly full plate a sad look. 

Zuko looks at the food too, but it doesn’t seem half as appetizing as it would any other time. No, tonight his stomach seems to be doing its best impression of Ty Lee’s tricks as it refuses to calm down. Zuko tells himself it’ll be okay, that Sokka will say yes, that he has nothing to worry about. But then he looks up and glances around the dining hall. The table they are at is full of their family and friends, and there are two other tables for the servants and other people from the city that Sokka insisted on inviting. It’s no surprise to see them, Sokka easily makes friends wherever he goes and that includes everyone he runs into around the palace and in the city.

Zuko is comfortable with everyone in this room, but he is definitely more than a little nervous to propose in front of all of them.

The necklace in the inside pocket of his robes feels like it weighs a hundred pounds, and he grabs one of Sokka’s hands with his own to stop himself from reaching for it. Sokka has moved on to talking to Katara on his right side, but he squeezes Zuko’s hand gently.

Toph is on Zuko’s left, her plate full of dumplings, and Zuko leans over to whisper, “Change of plans.”

"What do you mean?” she hisses back. “We’re ready to go, we came all the way here, don’t tell me you’re not going to pop the question!”

“No, I am, just,” he sighs, noticing Hakoda and Suki watching him from across the table. “Not like this. Or at least not yet. Stand by.”

They all nod, and Zuko redirects his attention to his plate as Sokka’s conversation fades away. 

“Hey,” Sokka says, turning back to him and giving his hand another squeeze. “You good?”

Zuko nods quickly, even though his insides are still doing cartwheels and Sokka can probably tell how sweaty his hand is. “I’m fine.”

“Do you want to go get some fresh air?” Sokka asks, a secretive smile on his face, and Zuko smiles back, an idea coming to mind. 

“Yeah, actually, that would be nice,” he says, and he excuses them from the table, leading Sokka away by the hand. He feels the eyes of their friends on their retreating figures and once they are out of the crowded dining hall, he already feels better.

“I can’t remember the last time we were all- oh, shit!” Sokka jumps as they step into the garden and the night sky instantly lights up, illuminating the grounds in bright blue with a loud bang. His mouth drops open. “You got me birthday fireworks?!”

“Uh, yeah. They’re a little early, though,” Zukka grins sheepishly, turning to discreetly wave away the servants standing by with more fireworks while Sokka is still admiring the light that fizzles into darkness. “They were meant for after the p- uh, after the banquet.”

“Well, it definitely woke me up from the verge of a food coma,” Sokka laughs, leaning close to Zuko’s side. 

They wordlessly make their way to the edge of the turtleduck pond, stopping under the tree where they had their first kiss. Zuko takes a few deep breaths, the familiar sight calming him down significantly, his head clearing. 

“Did you have a nice birthday?” he asks, leaning his head on Sokka’s shoulder. As much as he pretended to be annoyed by Sokka’s teasing when he grew two inches taller, Zuko doesn’t mind being the shorter one.

“It was perfect,” Sokka answers, the two of them admiring the stars and the bright moon. “I got to be with my amazing boyfriend, whom I love very much, and he did the sweetest thing and got my friends and family to come here to surprise me.”

Zuko grins, lifting his head up to look at Sokka. “Anything for you, Sokka. There is just one more surprise now.”

“Yes, only one thing could make this day even more perfect,” Sokka hums, eyes bright. Zuko is usually great at surprises, but it seems that his boyfriend has figured this one out on his own and Zuko takes this as his cue. Plan be damned, his free hand grabs the betrothal necklace.

Zuko clears his throat, turning to face him while still holding his hand. “Sokka, we have had an incredible four years of friendship, and the most wonderful seven months of…boyfriendship?” he says the last part as a question, wincing at his choice of words. Okay, maybe this actually was easier when he practiced on the badgerfrog. Smoother? No. Easier? A little bit.

Sokka snorts, shaking his head as his shoulders also shake with laughter. “You are such a dork. That is one of many, many reasons why I am so completely in love with you. I have been for a long time, and I know I will be in love with you for the rest of my life.”

“I feel the same way,” Zuko grins, gaining confidence. “Sokka, I love everything about you. Your humor, your smile, your generosity, your intellect...I could go on and on, and I promise I will spend every day that we have together reminding you just how great I think you are and how perfect you are for me.”

Sokka squeezes his hand, and Zuko feels his eyes start to water as he sees the tears in his boyfriend’s eyes. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to deserve you, but I will forever be grateful for you and for your love. Zuko, there is no one else like you, and I will always be here to show you just how much I love and care about you. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

“And I can’t imagine my life without you,” Zuko says, slowly pulling his hand out of his pocket. “So Sokka, will you marry me?”

Sokka’s mouth falls open immediately as he looks at the necklace in Zuko’s palm. “Wait. What?”

“Will you marry me?” Zuko repeats.

“This is a proposal?” Sokka asks, glancing from the necklace to his boyfriend’s face.

“Well, yeah, is it not obvious enough?” Zuko raises an eyebrow.

“No, yeah, I mean I get it now, it’s just,” Sokka laughs, pulling his hand out of his pocket. “This was my proposal, too.”

Zuko’s eyes widen as Sokka holds out his hand and the moon lights up a wooden carving resting in his palm. Unlike Sokka’s past attempts at carving, it actually looks like a turtleduck.

“It actually looks like a turtleduck,” he gasps before he can stop himself, and Sokka laughs.

“I’m not even upset you just said that, because I worked really hard on it, it better look like a damn turtleduck,” he says. “One of the Kyoshi Warriors here is really talented, the day I first brought up marriage and you said you wanted that, I found her and asked her to help me carve this. I wanted something personal, a kind of token to you to ask you to marry me. It took hours, and you should give her a raise just because of how patient she was with me. This is the result.”

Zuko lets go of his hand to take the turtleduck and admire it, turning it over and noticing all the details. The beak is uneven, making it the spitting image of the young turtleduckling that they are both particularly fond of, one of the ones that hatched on the day they started dating. “You carved it after Boomerang.”

“Aha! So you admit his name is Boomerang!” Sokka’s eyes light up so brightly that Zuko can’t even find it in himself to argue (“We are not naming the turtleduck Boomerang.” “But his beak is almost shaped like one! It’s perfect! Better than Shizai, anyway.” “Hey, Shizai was a brave warrior-”).

“It’s beautiful, Sokka. I love it.”

“Speaking of beauty,” Sokka says, grabbing the betrothal necklace from Zuko’s still outstretched hand. “When did you make this? It looks amazing!”

Zuko smiles, watching Sokka’s face as he studies the pendant. “When we went to the Southern Water Tribe just a week or two ago. I went ice fishing with your dad to talk about it, and then he took me hunting for the bone.”

“You did? Wow, you really are good at secrets. I didn’t even notice you two got some fish!”

Zuko hesitates, remembering how their fishing trip turned out to be a bust and he and Hakoda had both had some revelations that they promised to keep secret. “What can I say, I’ve always been good at surprising you. While you and Katara went penguin sledding, we spent most of the day making the necklace. The pendant took a few tries to get just right.”

“Is that…?” Sokka squints at the carved bone. “You combined our two nations!”

Zuko smiles, watching Sokka’s thumb brush over the design. He carved the Fire Nation symbol but made the ends curl to look like the waves of the Water Tribe insignia. “Katara helped me come up with the design, I hope you like it. If not, that’s okay, I won’t mind. You can tell me and I can always make another-”

Sokka cuts him off with a quick kiss. “No, I love it. It’s perfect, Zuko.”

“So, let’s try this again,” Zuko laughs. “Sokka, I love you, will you marry me?”

“Of course I will,” Sokka beams. “Zuko, no pressure, but it’s my birthday, and there is one last gift you can give to me. Will you marry me?”

“Hmm,” Zuko’s eyes stare up at the sky, pretending to take a moment to think about it. “I think I will.”

Sokka rolls his eyes but pulls him in for a kiss. When they pull back, he holds the betrothal necklace out to Zuko, who takes it and puts it around Sokka’s neck. 

“Not bad, for Fire Nation,” Sokka smiles, feeling the ribbon around his neck.

Zuko looks back at the carving in his hand before pocketing it. “Not bad, considering your first attempt at a turtleduck looked like a rock.”

“Hey,” Sokka shoves him playfully, unable to hide the grin on his face. “It was adorable.”

“You’re adorable.”

“Oh, great,” Sokka groans. “I can’t believe I’m marrying the cheesiest guy in all the Fire Nation. Is it too late to change my mind?”

“Rude. Don’t worry, the perks make up for it,” Zuko grins, and then turns his head toward the palace. “He said yes!”

The fireworks immediately start again, and Sokka wraps his arm around his boyfriend to pull him close and watch the sky above them. 

Within seconds, they hear more voices, and they turn to smile as their friends and family join them by the pond. 

“We heard the fireworks, what-” Katara freezes, noticing the necklace around her brother’s neck, and she lets out a loud gasp as she looks to Zuko. “You already asked him?”

“And he asked me,” Zuko smiles.

“But what about the awesome stage I was going to create in the middle of the dining hall for you to propose on?” Toph crosses her arms.

“I practiced bending a heart out of water for an _hour_ to make sure I got the perfect shape,” Katara points out.

“And I was so excited to use my airbending to set off the confetti cannons in the dining hall!” Aang adds.

Sokka turns to Zuko, eyes wide. “You had all of that planned for me?”

“I know you pretty well, I thought you would like something grand,” Zuko shrugs. “But asking you here...it just felt right.”

“Of course it felt right. Like I told Iroh, it was my plan all along to propose to you here,” Sokka smiles.

“Wait,” Zuko turns to see his uncle giving him a wink. “You knew we were both going to propose tonight?”

“I did,” he confirms with a smile. “I thought it was very fitting for the two of you.”

“I gotta say,” Katara puts a hand on her hip. “I’m just impressed my brother kept his proposal a secret from the rest of us.”

“I wanted to show you guys that I am capable of surprises as well!” Sokka tells her. "I guess it didn't turn out the way I imagined, but I'm not complaining."

“Can I at least do the confetti cannons at the wedding?” Aang asks excitedly. 

Zuko shakes his head. “Absolutely n-”

“Yes!”

Zuko turns to raise an eyebrow at his boyf- no, fiancé -who gives him a challenging smirk. Zuko sighs.

“We’ll sort out the details later. For now, there is cake waiting for us.”

“Yes! Best birthday ever!” Sokka cheers. “Because of the engagement, of course, not because of the cake, but the cake is definitely a bonus.”

Zuko wraps an arm around his waist and pulls him in close as they walk back to the palace. “Happy birthday, future husband.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the last part to this series! Let me know your thoughts :)
> 
> I was worried Zuko was too out of character but then I decided f that. He and Sokka have been friends for four years, he can have a little goofiness. As a treat.
> 
> I have an [Avatar the Last Airbender blog](https://bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!


End file.
